Can Someone Help Me Lose That Last Bit Of Bellyfat?

There is a phenomenon called HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training. Basically, it is intense cardio. Pick your machine at the gym - stairmaster, bike, treadmill, elliptical. Warm up for 5 minutes or so. Then, pump up the volume doing intervals for 30 seconds - 2 minutes. Example:



Best advice so far. I.e. You need to up your cardio intensity significantly, as well as your weight lifting. Also...protein drinks do nothing for you unless you are intensly lifting weights and, accordingly, looking to add muscle. In fact, guess what your body does with excess protein?...stores it as fat. Finally, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

 

You need to build more muscle all around. Sounds like more cardio and just abs, than doing weights. Whats probably happeing is you don't have enough muscle mass to burn the fat. Start doing more weights for your upper body, also start doing alot of leg workouts(weights especially). How many times a day are you eating and how far apart are your meals? Are you eating every 2 1/2, 3 or 4 hours? 5,6 or even 7 times a day?

 

+2

men's health did and experiment on ABS using identical triplets. 1 triplet did HIIT only and nothing else, he developed the best abs and 8 wks of training.

 

First, you can do all the crunches you want - it won't give you a six pack, and it won't burn fat!! Your ab muscles are already there!!!, what you need is the body fat gone.

There are only two things, one legal, one not, the illegal is Clenbuterol - many athletes, pro-body builders, strippers, models use Clen.

Legal - cardio, cardio, cardio. Either find an aerobic class will some very hot girls to motivate you, or go take up riding a bicycle as a hobby and put some serious miles on it - you'll be shredded in a very short period of time.

If you want to do abs - buy an ab roller and use it correctly. It'll build shoulders, lower back, and killer lower abs both strength and cuts - upper abs come from just about every exercise you do.

 

Your leaving out ECA as a viable, legal alternative that does produce results if you can handle feeling like a crack addict and sweating a bunch.

 

Do some heavy deadlifts and squats. The abdominals are not intended to do crunches; their primary function is lateral stability of the midsection and power transfer from the legs to the upper body. I don't do more than 30 reps of any abdominal focused (sit ups, knee raises, etc) exercises a day--and at that, it's usually just for warming up and getting loose--but I'll do close to 300 reps of heavy deadlifts, cleans, snatch, front/back/overhead squats each week. All exercises where your torso (core/abs) is needed to transfer huge forces from the legs to the upper body. Additionally, since the legs are the most powerful and largest muscle groups in the body, you will burn more energy doing deadlifts and squats, killing two birds with one stone.

What's really neat is when you get a six-pack on your back, too.

 

I'll echo the bodyfat comments; you need to be in the 5% range. I ride 200+ miles a week have 5% bodyfat and a six pack with very little ab work. I'm 42. It amazes me to see fat folks in the gym lifting weights and crunching like there's no tomorrow; they need aerobic cardio to lose weight - not saying you are fat, just making a point

 

Exactly - bicycle for the summer and put some miles on it - you'll be as shredded and fit as you've ever been in your life!!!

 

Sprints sprints and more sprints . Worked ofr me plus have you seen the physique on a sprinter male or female


PM me for a routine

 

Like it's been said, abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. And please don't take offense to this, but losing 32 lbs. in a year is not all that intense. That's 307 calories less per day than normal for a year. Maybe the work you did before that you didn't mention in your first post was, but what you described is not.

I know this is my first post here, which makes the the internet equivalent of a mildly retarded at best, and I'm trying to come off as rude or snobbish about fitness and/or health. I was in your shoes. Well, my shoes were a little fuller...214 lbs. at 5'9" in January. Today I was 168 lbs...in the afternoon after breakfast and lunch.

The weight loss was due mainly to the way I eat...Paleo. Google it if you like, but it's basically eating only real foods. If it comes in a box, a wrapper you don't eat it. And yes, that includes soda.

As far as the workout, I started doing crossfit, which I love. It's not for everyone, but it works for me. When I started I could do one, maybe two pull-ups on a good day. Now I do sets of 10 as part of the warm-up. Just don't ask me what I bench because I have no idea. I also have no idea what I can curl. Haven't done either of those in quite some time.

What I do know is that I'm in better shape than I was when I was a rower in college and I'm running faster now than I ever have.

If you're interested in researching the paleo diet or crossfit, I recommend the following links (both work and family safe):

www.crossfit.com
http://whole9life.com/2009/07/the-w30/

I'm not saying it's the answer to all life's problems, but it works for me.

 

Drugs - from a doctor.

Although I don't know if a doctor would prescribe them to a fit person.

 

Its amazing how much squats and deads help.

After years of only doing the hack squat machine I recently began doing real squats. After getting home and about to hop in the shower that "v" was so pronounced.

 

What are your estrogen levels? If high that might be why you can't lose that last bit of belly fat...have them checked by your doc, follow his advice in how to reduce them.

 

Overhead squats in particular. The first few times you'll wonder why you've been wasting so much time doing crunches..
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Wow, seriously, 5% bodyfat to get a 6-pack? I just had my BF% measured today and I'm at 18.6% and I think I'm skinny as a rail (6'1" and 182lbs). 5% would seem to be like Lance Armstrong numbers during his peak TDF days.

Anyway, was interesting to read all the replies about "abs made in the kitchen" and "avoid sugar". Asked my trainer today the same question as the OP and she told me the same stuff. I guess it must be true.

I have to lay off the wine ...should I just switch to grain alcohol or is that full of sugar too??

 

WTF!!!!

That chick is strong! Good form too.

You don't need to be 5% bodyfat. 5% bodyfat is actually not very healthy either, you can have too little fat. I think 12-14% and you can see them clearly. 10% is probably ideal.

 

For most people, to get actual ab definition (not just a divot) you need to be 5%-7%. The stomach and the small amount of fat on the back of the sides are the absolutely last thing to go in most people. Everyone's body is different, of course.

It is hard to maintain those numbers. My body is stable at 9% - 10% (with workouts every other day). When I have gotten down to under 7%, I just can't stay there without counting every calorie.

To get down to sub 7%, I've been successful with cyclic dieting. Specifically, cycles of a 3 day keotgenic diet with long full body workouts to burn all the glycogen out of my muscles, then a day or two of rest while still dieting, then heavy eating for a couple days with max out heavy weights and then a day or two of recovery. When I want to drop a couple percentage points, I can do that for 6 weeks. It is a brutal schedule, though. Without something like that, my body fights any attempt to drop %.

 

Great post and some awesome advice here! .... but some misconceptions.

The High Intensity Training combined with responsible eating habits are the keys to losing the last bit of 'belly fat.' Intervals (bursts of 30-45 sec.) ARE the key and there is NO difference between Cardio and Weights, it is all resistance training along an intensity spectrum.

Patience is your friend and there are no shortcuts, only effective exercises. It took me 7 years working out 6 days a week, doing the right exercises in the right order, to get where I wanted and have maintained 'maintenance' for the past 12 years.

Squats and Deadlifts are excellent choices but the one depicted, Overhead Squats, is far down the progression spectrum and will only promote compensation (and injury), if not executed perfectly. DB's are a safer and just as effective alternative.

Hire a qualified Fitness Professional in your area to get some workouts written up.

The abdominal region is a group of 4 muscle groups each producing different directions of motion and stabilization. There is no one best exercise but an arsenal where 8 or so different exercises incorporating all directions of mvt should be performed every workout. (the ones recommended by Qslvr, Joe are ineffective...see reply below)

Bodyfat %: Below 10% is excellent and the 6-pack (there's actually 8), will show up around or below 10%. Below 5% is NOT too low. Michael Jordon was reportedly 3.3% and I am 43, 182#, @ 4.6% bodyfat and have been thereabouts for 14 years.

Get to it!

-Billy

 

Joe, please take what I say as advice to improve your knowledge base.
These 3 exercises are ineffective.

Cable Crunch: Axis is usually at the hip joint. Abs do not attach to the femur. Resistance is not applied effectively.
Better choice? Reverse Crunch.

Decline Sit-ups: Again, beyond the initial 'crunch' phase, this exercise shifts its axis to the hip joint and actually causes a lot more problems, esp in the spine. See a full article on my website here: http://kcfitness.com/hrlbhigh-risk-low-benefit-exercise-of-the-month/decline-sit-up-board/
Better Choice? Crunch over stability ball.

Weighted Side Bends: Range is restricted and resistance not applied effectively throughout range. Better Choice? Side Crunch on a Roman Chair or over a stability ball.

Moral of the story is if you want to train your abs effectively you should try and keep the hip flexors out of involvement.

Also, Abs are not Fast Twitch Type II fibers, they are for the most part Slow Twitch, Type I (endurance fibers) like calf musc. Fast Twitch provide power for short bursts: glutes, quads, biceps.

-Billy

 

Billy, some of my goals include having stronger hip flexors for greater core stability, and leg-raising strength, is this incorrect?

My personal most effective ab routines have been a strict mix of 210 situps and approx. 100 leg raises (left, center, right) That still leaves the left and right sides of my stomach a bit weak; which is aided by a few of the P90x ab routines.

 

Core stability comes from training all 4 ab layers in multiple directions with different loading strategies and is independent of and has nothing to do with hip flexors. The Hip Flexor group are usually strong enough and overtraining them will lead to an imbalance in the pelvis and accentuate the lumbar curve, mostly tilting it forward and excess lordosis respectively. The same happens in the shoulder by doing so-called 'front-raises', creating internally/rounded shoulder posture.
If you are doing 210 sit-ups, it is time to eliminate that exercise and challenge yourself differently. Remember, a full sit-up does involve hip flexion. Learn the proper way to do a ball crunch and a dozen variations.
Add in side crunches on a roman chair, planks...I could go on and on but its best to consult with a qualified fitness instructor in your area.
One problem I have with P90x is excess repetition of the same movement, neglecting others, and ended up with many inherent weaknesses throughout the body.
-Billy

 

Thanks... I guess my question is more along the lines of "I wish to be able to balance in a handstand".... my sit ups have been 3x sets of 70, and 3x sets of 40/30/30 leg raises. Maybe some sort of reverse sit up to strengthen my lower back... maybe I just need some new/more equipment

 

Lots of great recommendations so far but bear in mind it doesn't sound like a health issue. I hiked the Appalachian Trail when I was twenty and I still had a little belly fat as you describe. I was burning the caloric equivalent of a person running two marathons a day. That was about twenty miles on average with forty to fifty pounds extra (back-pack) over mountain trails.

I've heard that in a healthy weight one might need lypo to remove the most stubborn fat cells that just won't shrink away but that's not my cup of tea. You sound quite healthy and may need to be happy with that. Best of luck!!!!!

 

Complex carbohydrates foods like beans,lentils,vegetables and whole grains are actually what we term as foods that burn belly fat.They are also known as low carb foods.This is because they convert to glucose more slowly and this allows the body to process the glucose more efficiently. In other words, your body metabolism have to work harder to get the energy it needs and this helps you to burn more calories than you consume. Because there is a deficit of energy that the can derive from the carbohydrates,it will start to turn to the stored fats in your body to make up for the short fall in energy. It is through this manner that some foods can help to burn belly fat.